Modern operating rooms are filled with complicated, expensive equipment used during medical procedures. Operating rooms have special needs such as temperature and filtering controls. As a result, costs associated with operating room space are generally high.
It is desirable to efficiently use the available space in the operating room in order to reduce healthcare costs. At the same time, the operating room equipment should be efficiently arranged to afford convenient use by the medical personnel (e.g. a perfusionist, nurse or surgeon).
The art is replete with mounting equipment used in a hospital operating room environment. One example of mounting equipment is the assembly used to mount perfusion equipment that is used during cardiovascular surgery. The equipment comprises a base assembly including a cart having a base with a plurality of wheels, vertically extending mounting "masts" or poles, and a horizontally extending pole situated generally at the top of the equipment and extending between the vertical poles. Such equipment include the Computer Aided Perfusion System (CAPS) generally available from Stockert Shiley.TM. (a Pfizer Co.) of Irvine, Calif., the Console Base generally available from COBE.TM. of Lakewood, Colo., and the "SARNS brand 9000" Perfusion System available from the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. (3M) of St. Paul, Minn.
The art is replete with mounting bracket assemblies that are used in conjunction with the above mentioned base assemblies. Some of those mounting bracket assemblies comprise a collar with a cylindrical hole. The collar is attached to the pole by placing the collar over the top of the pole and sliding the collar down the pole. However, when this type of collar is removed from the pole, any equipment that is attached to the pole and situated above the collar must also be removed. This may be inconvenient for a user, particularly when several pieces of equipment are situated above the collar.
Other mounting bracket assemblies utilize a clamp with a threaded set screw which abuts the pole. Tightening the set screw forces the screw against the pole to hold the bracket assembly to the pole, but also tends to mar the pole.
Some mounting bracket assemblies afford a change of the orientation of the perfusion equipment relative to the clamp which attaches the equipment to the pole. However, some of those assemblies tend to tighten or loosen when the equipment is pivoted relative to the clamp, resulting in equipment which is inconvenient for a user to manipulate.
Additionally, prior art mounting assemblies typically receive medical equipment on one, predetermined surface (e.g. the top or the bottom surface of the bracket). A user is not afforded the flexibility to mount the medical equipment at more than one surface.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a mounting bracket assembly for use with a base assembly having a vertically extending pole or mast. The mounting bracket of the present invention: (1) affords stacking of a plurality of medical equipment modules (e.g. one on top of the other) in a variety of orientations to efficiently use available space (e.g. such as space in an operating room), (2) mounts the medical equipment modules on a distal arm which is pivotally attached to a proximal arm so that the modules may be pivotally repositioned without loosening the attachment between the equipment and the mounting bracket assembly, (3) affords pivoting movement of the distal arm relative to the proximal arm while resisting tightening and loosening of the distal arm relative to the proximal arm, (4) affords convenient mounting and removal of the mounting bracket to and from the vertically extending pole and the modules of equipment to and from the distal arm without interfering with other equipment which may be connected to the pole, (5) restricts damage to the pole from the bracket itself, (6) releasably affixes a module of medical equipment to the distal arm, and (7) affords convenient disassembly.
The mounting bracket assembly comprises a proximal arm and a distal module mount arm. A pivot mounts the distal module mount arm for pivotal movement relative to the proximal arm. Preferably, the pivot does not tighten or loosen when the distal arm is pivoted relative to proximal arm. The distal module mount arm has first and second major surfaces (e.g. top and bottom surfaces). The bracket assembly also has mounting plates for receiving a module of medical equipment on at least one of the first or second major surfaces of the distal module mount arm.
The bracket assembly further includes a clamp for releasably attaching the proximal arm to the pole. The clamp includes fixed and movable jaws having fixed and movable engagement surfaces. The engagement surfaces are complementary to the outer surfaces of the pole.
The fixed jaw includes a groove, and the movable jaw includes a rib that is adapted to be received in the groove of the fixed jaw. The movable jaw pivots in the groove relative to the fixed jaw to allow the jaws to be brought together by a handle/screw assembly. The screw in the handle/screw assembly is adapted to be received in a threaded bore on the fixed jaw.